How it works
- Join through the link. Everyone types just their name, without an account.
- Write your letters to Santa. What gift, a shop link or a photo.
- The draw. Everyone gets the letter of one person on the list and buys the gift from it. Nobody draws their own letter. Once the list is set up, its organizer can pick pairs who do not draw each other, e.g. spouses.
- The gift sack, when names are hidden. The letter can come without its writer's name, or with a number to write on the parcel. Then on a chosen day the gift sack opens: everyone sees whose letter it was, or gets the number of their own parcel.
The budget, the dates, the secret and the other rules: Secret Santa rules.
Everyone at one table? Draw names on one phone
Your list, your rules
When you set up a list, you choose three things. This is what each choice does.
Who reads the letters?
The draw
Everyone gets someone else's letter and buys that gift.
Only me
Every letter comes to you, e.g. from your children. They see each other on the list, not you.
When is the draw?
When you click “Draw the letters”
Only you have the button. Click it once everyone has joined.
When the majority decides
Everyone can vote. With 3 votes of 5, the draw happens by itself.
On a chosen day
The draw happens by itself on the day and at the hour you pick. Nobody clicks anything.
What does the draw show?
Name and letter
You know right away whose letter it is and who gets your gift.
The letter now, the name later
First the letter, without a name. On the day the gift sack opens, the name shows up.
A number instead of the name
You write the number on the parcel. When the gift sack opens, everyone gets the number of their own parcel.
Frequently asked questions
How do I run Secret Santa online?
Create a list and send its link to everyone taking part. Everyone joins with just their name and writes a letter to Santa. In the draw, everyone gets someone else's letter and buys that gift.
Is it free? Do I need an account or an e-mail?
It is free, with no accounts and no e-mails. Everyone types just their name, and their own link is the key to their page.
Can someone draw themselves, or two people draw each other?
No. The draw puts everyone in one circle: each person buys for the next one, the last for the first. So nobody draws their own letter, and no two people draw each other's.
How do I run Secret Santa at work or in class, so nobody knows who the gift is from?
When you create the list, choose “A number instead of the name”: everyone writes a number on their parcel, and when the gift sack opens, everyone gets the number of their own parcel. With “The letter now, the name later” everyone buys the gift from the letter alone, and the name shows up when the gift sack opens.
How many people do you need for the draw?
At least 3, and up to 100 on one list. People can join through the link until the draw; after it, nobody joins.
Can we set a gift budget?
Yes. When you create the list, you can write a gift budget, e.g. “$30”. Everyone sees it on the pages of the list.
Can we draw from far away, without meeting?
Yes. Everyone joins, writes their letter and reads the letter they drew on their own phone, wherever they are. You send the gifts yourselves, e.g. by post.
When does the draw happen?
You choose when you create the list: when you click “Draw the letters”, when more than half of the people on the list vote for it, or by itself on the day and at the hour you pick.